


Caught in a Joke

by TheMortalMalecFan



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Popular Magnus, Romance, Unpopular Alec, highschool!au, human!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-21 03:14:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6035767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMortalMalecFan/pseuds/TheMortalMalecFan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Camille encouraged me to 'fake date' Alec Lightwood for a week. It was only supposed to be a little joke. He didn’t mean for it to end like this. He would never have imagined the amount of pain that he would put Alec through, not to mention the amount of pain that he’d cause for himself. For once in his life he’d finally felt like he'd had everything, and now… he had nothing. !High school AU!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was only supposed to be a little joke. He didn't mean for it to end like this. He couldn't never have imagined the amount of pain that he would put him through, not to mention the amount of pain that he'd caused himself. For once in his life he'd finally felt like he had everything he wanted, and now… he had nothing.

….

1 month earlier

 

"Magnus!" Camille ran down the corridor towards him. Her eyes were wide with excitement which only meant one thing, she had gossip. He turned slamming his locker closed and lent back on the locker to face her.

"Yes? What news has gotten your panties in a twist this time?" He said crossing his arms over his chest and looking down on her as her mouth grew into a smug smile.

"You have no idea! You know that kid who's always alone, the one that doesn't talk to anyone?!" She said her eyes glowing with mischief. His mind ran through all of the people that she could be talking about until his mind fell on a boy in particular.

"Um… Ali? Alex? Alec? Alec, I think that's it…," he said a little bored. He had seen the boy around many times but had only seen him talk once or twice. He seemed okay but had been the victim of bullying because of how vulnerable he seemed.

"Yes, Alec! There's a rumour going around that he's totally gay!" Camille screeched clinging on to the sleeve on of his black blazer. His eyes widened and he let a laugh fall from his lips.

"Alec? Really? You've got to be kidding me!" He said rolling his eyes. Camille took a step back and looked at him with devil like eyes. He could see the cogs in her brain working as it formed a plan.

"So you don't believe it? Well I think we should put that to the test," she said with a wide grin. Frowning he let his arms fall to his sides before letting his hands slip into the pockets of his black skinny jeans.

"What are you planning Camille?" He said looking down on her still smiling face.

"I am talking about you asking the kid out, because I know you love a challenge and I want to know if he's gay," she said with a shrug, her smile still present on her face.

"You want me to go out with him?" He said raising his eyebrows. He knew that Alec was decent looking but from what he'd seen the guy hardly talked. If he could actually get him to go on a date with him that would actually involve talking and social interaction. Alec was definitely not the type of guy or girl that he normally went for.

"Not forever, just a week or so and then you can break up with him and carry on with your fabulous life," she said with an evil grin. She put her hands on his shoulders when she saw his unimpressed look. "Come on Mags it will be fun, just a little joke," She continued and he sighed. He knew that she was going to keep on going on about it until he agreed.

"Fine, but this isn't something I'll do again so enjoy your fun," he said and her smile widened.

"This is going to be so good!" She exclaimed clapping her hands and jumping on the spot.

"Only for you I assure you," he replied and stood up straight. Removing his hands from his pockets he turned and started to walk down the corridor, Camille following close behind him.

"Aw, come on you have to admit that this is a plan of genius!" She said her voice so high with excitement that he was sure that any dog in a three mile radius was going wild right now. He looked over his shoulder at her and gave her a wink and a small laugh.

"I guess it's not the worst you've come up with," he replied and Camille laughed before moving forward and linking his arm with his. As they turned the corner into the next corridor, he heard Camille gasp slightly. "What, now?" He asked looking around, but she didn't even need to answer, because there he was, Alec.

He was shoving book into his locker but seemed to be having a hard time of it. After another attempt of trying to shove multiple books in, they fell over the top of his arm and onto the floor. He smiled and looked to Camille who was already shoving him forward.

"Time to shine baby," she whispered before turning and walking the opposite way down the corridor. He knew that she wouldn't go far and would be on him again as soon as he was finished talking.

Like a hero in a film he rushed forward and scooped up one of the books that had slid across the floor and Alec hadn't managed to get to yet. With the book in his hands he moved towards the boy, making sure to stand just a little too close. "Hey, found your book," he said putting on the charm and giving his award winning smile.

The boy turned to him eyes wide like he couldn't quite believe that he was talking to him. Well, that anyone was talking to him more likely. "Um…thanks," he said almost as quiet as a whisper. He took the book and shoved it into the locker before slamming it shut.

"You're quite welcome… Alec, right?" He asked and Alec bowed his head before nodding slightly. "I'm just going to take that as a yes," he laughed and Alec looked up, gave him a small smile, before turning to walk down the corridor.

His mouth dropped open. Well, that hadn't happened to him before. Shock draining away he ran to catch up with him, slowing to his pace when he finally caught up. "Hey, so what are you up to right now?" He asked but Alec only looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Going home," was his only reply as he pushed the door to the car park open and walked out into the sun. There was a slight breeze that ruffled his hair slightly -he couldn't help but think a tiny bit of hair spray could fix that- and he walked down the front steps.

He followed getting a tired of the little attention he was paying to him. "How about we go for a coffee or something?" He asked and Alec choked a laugh before gaining speed.

"No thank you," Alec said now heading towards the school gate. Reaching out he put his hand on his shoulder to stop him, it didn't work, and he just jerked away from the touch and started running. He paused and just watched as the boy disappeared fast through the gate and left him standing alone.

"Well, that looked like it went well," Camille said coming up behind him. He didn't even need to turn around to see that she was smirking at him. Still staring at the gates that Alec had run through, he was speechless. "Better think of a better way to bag that one, he going to be tough," she continued and he finally turned to her.

"You want me to try again? He totally rejected me, how the hell am I going to get him to go out with me if he won't even talk to me?" He asked rolling his eyes. This was ridiculous, why should he put in this much effort for a joke?

"Magnus Bane! I've never known you to turn down a challenge!" Camille scoffed putting her hands on her hips.

Sighing he gave a small nod in surrender, another screech fell from Camille's lips.

"Remind me why I'm friends with you again?" He asked hanging his head and allowing Camille to link his arm and drag him back towards the school again.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day it wasn't even five seconds before Camille was on his back about the prank again. "Have you thought of how you're going to do this now? Because your marvellous charm doesn't look like it's going to cut it," she sniggered giving him a nudge.

Smiling he turned to her. "What can I say? Not everyone has good taste," he shrugged laying a hand on Camille's bony shoulder. He could tell that she needed to eat a sandwich or two from the feel of it. "But no, I was busy last night. I didn't have time for planning," he said giving Camille a wink and she made a noise between a squeal and a squeak.

"Naughty boy, how do you find all of these people?" she asked moving in closer so that they could speak more privately.

"You know what, sometime they come to me," he gave her another wink and they both smiled.

He had his own apartment in town, under the radar obviously. His parents hadn't wanted to deal with him anymore, so they moved him into an apartment across town bribing the estate agent that his mother would check on him daily, which of course she doesn't. He'd been lucky to see either of his parents once a month. The 'perks' of having rich parents.

Continuing towards his first class he saw Alec again, only this time he was getting shoved around by one of the footballers. Twice hitting into the lockers sending a boom echoing through the hallway before the boy seemed to get bored and wonder off down the hall.

He had been lucky in the sense that everyone seemed to leave his group of friends alone. He could probably say that he was incredibly popular, but he also could say that he didn't have a huge amount of friends to go with it. Just a lot of being civil with most people and everyone else staying out of our way.

Camille obviously was his best friend of course, and he didn't need much more than that. But everyone knew who Magnus Bane was and he had to say that he like that.

He continued walking, only keeping one eye on Alec. The boy look up and must have seen him watching, immediately Alec looked to the floor and stormed off down the hall.

"Wow he does have a temper doesn't he?" Camille giggled clinging to his arm as they reached their first class. Maths.

He HATED maths with a passion. The numbers he got, but when you added letters and signs to them it just made no sense to him. Also, the teacher hated him, probably as much as he hated the subject. He took his seat in the far back of the classroom, leaning back into his chair as far as he could without falling under the table. Maybe he wouldn't even be noticed.

He was far from wrong. It wasn't even five minutes into the class before he was kicked out for 'talking while he was talking'. This teacher really had it in for him. Slowly he walked the corridor, his shoes tapping with ever step he made. He was supposed to go to the principal's office but he'd given up going after the fourth time he'd been sent there. Instead he wandered around the school, walking the corridors until he reached the front entrance.

Deciding to get some air, he pushed the doors open and walked out. The air was cool, a small breeze slightly more persistent than the day before blew at his hair.

He took the step two at a time until he reached the bottom. He was about to turn left when he heard a noise coming from the right side of the building. Low voices, and the sound of a struggle.

Curious he walked towards it, slowly creeping around the corner of the building. Going this way would lead all the way around to the school field, but he didn't get that far.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw the same footballer he'd seen earlier, now holding Alec on the ground, his clenched fist high in the air ready for a punch. Usually, he would have walked away. He stayed out of business that wasn't his and that's how it's always been. How he'd kept his status. But he needed Alec's trust if he wanted Camille's practical joke to work.

Did he even want it to work? Maybe not, but it might be the laugh he's need for a while.

"Hey," he said as the fist started to come down. It paused mid punch and the footballer looking over his shoulder angry that he hadn't gotten his punch in. Alec was struggling beneath the weight of the 6ft 1 man lying on top of him, he had no chance.

Well, that's what he'd thought until Alec threw a punch of his own knocking the boy off him. The footballer was about to come straight back at him.

"Stop it, both of you!" He yelled crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. He was already tired of the fighting and there was no way that he was chancing a black eye for anyone. "I assume that neither of you can be bothered to get a detention for fighting," he continued having no intention of actually carrying out the threat.

It seemed to work as the footballer stopped, got up from the floor and started towards him. For a second he thought that he was going to be his next target but the footballer barely grazed his arm as he walked past and back towards the school entrance.

He hadn't even noticed that Alec had gotten back to his feet until he was chasing after the footballer. He caught him by the arm with one swipe as he went past and pulled him against his chest to stop him from going anywhere.

"Let me go! This is nothing to do with you," Alec yelled at him trying to free himself. He tightened his grip on Alec's arms.

"Stop it Alec, there's no point in going after him now. He's gone," he said sternly and Alec seemed to relax a little, noticing that the guy had now disappeared into the school.

He waited until Alec stopped struggling before he finally released him. Alec immediately started to walk away from him, luckily for him not towards where the footballer had gone.

"You're welcome," he yelled after him, standing up from the wall and straightening out his shirt and brushing the creases out of his jeans. Looking back up he saw that Alec had paused and was turning back towards him. What was his problem?

"I didn't need your help," Alec replied so quietly that he hardly heard him. He sounded almost defeated.

"I'm sure you didn't, but it didn't hurt did it?" He said walking towards Alec, stopping just short of him.

Alec facial features finally softened from the brooding frown that he'd wore even since he'd started talking to him. "I'm sorry," he said letting put a big puff of air. "And thanks," Alec continued barely looking in the eyes. Though, he couldn't help but feel shocked at the boys sudden softened attitude. "I've got to go," Alec finished before turning and quickly scurrying away, now turning and heading back towards the school again.

He waited where he was for a second not sure of what had just happened. Had he actually made a starting point? Camille was going to be thrilled, and with a smile he headed back to into the school.

...

"No way!" Camille screeched as they entered his apartment.

"Yeah, he'll be easier to talk to now hopefully. But I swear he's the most depressing person that I've ever met," he said as they both dumped their bags by the door and wandered towards the sofa. Slumping down into it at the same time.

"I would be too if everyone thought I was a freak," she sniggered but he couldn't find the heart to laugh. Looking to his left, on the arm of the sofa he found the television remote. He flicked the tv on and leaned back into the cushions, the news was on. Just more drabble about how the worlds ending. Blah blah blah.

Camille shuffled closer to him and leaned against his shoulder, curing into the side of his body. He glanced at her before averting his eyes back to the screen. He'd once believed that he and Camille were made for one another. They had been in love, well until he noticed that someone like Camille wasn't capable of love, not yet anyway. She just needed to find her person and he needed to find his, and it unfortunately wasn't each other.

As the time ticked on he didn't even notice his eyes dropping, or remember when he fell asleep but when he woke, Camille had gone home and his apartment was dark. She must have turned the TV when she left, and they had never bothered to turn the room lights on giving the apartment an eerie atmosphere.

Then the banging caught his attention. Loud thumps coming from the front door. It must have woken him but he had failed to even notice it until now. Dragging himself from the sofa he walked towards the front entrance, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Who is it?" His voice came out as a low groan, for a second he felt like he'd hit puberty again. He lent against the door awaiting a response. The banging stopped almost as soon as he had spoken.

"Darren, let me in sweetie," the voice was slow and lustful. Sighing he closed his eyes.

He had met this guy almost a year ago now outside a club trying to get in, totally underage of course, and had helped him get inside. They were only a few months apart in age but Darren was completely insane, hot, but insane. He knew his ways to get into clubs underage and Darren knew how to have a good time.

He came around every so often for a random hook up, but he'd noticed that the boy didn't take no for an answer. Not that he minded too much but it could be a bit inconvenient if he had guests. Which fortunately hadn't happened yet.

He could imagine him now, his curly hair chestnut brown with streaks of dyed black throughout. His eyes were a darker shade of brown but he rarely had the time to look into them.

"Darling I'm not feeling it tonight, go home," he said knowing that there was no chance that this man was leaving.

"Aww Mags, please I need to see your beautiful face," Darren said almost immediately, banging two more times on the door mid speech.

"You're not my boyfriend Dare, you can't just come around when you feel like it. I haven't even seen you in a month," he replied standing up from his lean and talking a couple of steps away from the door.

"But you know I want to be, come on babe. Please let me in," the voice was smooth and almost enticing. Darren knew how to get under his skin. But he knew that the man outside slept with anything and everything. He was the last person that he'd imagine to be in a stable relationship.

"Darling I'm going to have to decline, I'd prefer to be single," he said looking back into his darkened apartment and walking to the closest light switch- which was the kitchen- before turning it on. The hallway and front door burst into light like a stage show spotlight shone upon it.

Three more knocks sounded, louder and more desperate this time. "Magnus!" Darren called and he sighed, finally giving in.

Walking towards to the door he unlocked it, thank god that Camille had locked it in the first place, before pulling the door open.

"Dar-," he started but didn't even get time to finish before he was on him, kissing his neck and lips. Smiling he wrapped his arms around him and pulled the man inside.

Throwing the door closed behind him they headed towards the bedroom.


	3. Chapter 3

"You look exhausted, did anything happen last night? You were sleeping when I left, which is rude to do when you have guests by the way," Camille complained. It was lunch time and he'd barely been able to get through the day. He was going to have to stop giving in to people so easily.

"Darren," was all he had to say and Camille nodded knowingly.

"Oh, he's back. You really need to stop seeing him, and this is me saying this Mags," Camille said surprising him. She was normally excited to know that he'd been with someone the night before.

"He was gone before I even woke up, and I probably won't see him for another month or two," he said rubbing his eyes for the millionth time. But he knew Camille was right.

"There's no shame in saying no, and besides you can't be having sex with someone while you're dating potential gay lover over there," Camille said her voice brightening up, though he could hear the cruel twist of her voice coming through. She was enjoying this way too much.

Turning to look where Camille was intently staring, he saw Alec sitting at a lunch table alone. He seemed to be intently texting someone, a small smile on his face. A weird feeling shot through his chest.

"Maybe he already has someone?" He said more to himself than anyone else.

"Oh, please," Camille said sniggering. "It's probably his mum or something," she continued and he couldn't help but smile.

"Right, of course it is," he replied giving Camille a small nudge, who returned it before giving out another giggle.

"Why don't you just go over there and find out?" Camille grinned and flashed he mischievous eyes at her.

"Why are you so obsessed with this?" He asked cocking his head at her.

She shrugged, leaning back into her chair. "I just really don't like the guy, at all," she said sweetly, the fake tone could almost snap in half in the air. "Just go, come on you're losing your chance. You know you want to do this to, considering how snappy he's been with you for no reason," she said practically shoving him out of his chair before he could reply.

"Fine," he said with a smile, amused with his friends pushiness. Turning his back to her he wandered over to Alec's table before dropping into the chair across from him.

Alec's eyes flew up to meet his like he was scared, but he calmed instantly. But then he sighed. Actually sighed at him.

"Can I do something for you?" Alec asked and he had to hold his breath to make sure that he didn't snap at the boy. After all the progress he'd thought he made.

"Just wanted to see how you are," he asked partly through gritted teeth. He couldn't wait until he didn't have to talk to this guy anymore.

"I'm fine, look you don't have to talk to me. I don't know what this is but, I know who you are and I'm kind of wary that you're talking to me," Alec said his words falling over one another to come out of his mouth.

Smiling he jumped the seats, moving around the table until he was sitting next to Alec. "There's no need to be wary, unless you sigh at me again and then you might need to be a little wary," he laughed sweetly, happy when he saw Alec smile slightly.

"Sorry, I just keep not expecting you to come back, and then suddenly, there you are," Alec said as his phone buzzed on the table. Alec quickly reached up and took the phone shoving it under the table so he couldn't see it.

"Girlfriend?" He asked raising his eyebrows. Maybe he could figure this out right here and now.

"No, I'm not with anybody," Alec laughed as he shoved the phone into his pocket and stood up from the table. "I've got to go," he said tucking his chair in and turning to leave.

"Where?" He asked standing and starting to following him from the cafeteria. Looking over his shoulder he caught a glimpse of Camille smiling at them. "Are you trying to avoid me? Because I can go and not talk to you anymore, I was just trying to be friendly," he said hoping that reverse psychology would work.

Alec turned to him and rolled his eyes. "I'm not really going anywhere, I like to go for walks. If you really want to coming with me then feel free," Alec said using a wild gesture as he turned and continued walking down the corridor; and smiling he followed behind.

"I've never met anyone that been so hot and cold with me," he said as they made their way out of the front entrance to the school.

Alec laughed and gave him a sideward glance. "That because I'm not sure if I trust you yet. I'm cautious, with good reason in this place," Alec continued and he nodded.

"I guess that's true," he replied as they headed towards the school gate. We're they leaving? "Where are we going?" He asked as they exited the gates and Alec veered left.

"You can go back if you want, or you can follow," Alec said shoving his hands into his black skinny jeans.

He wasn't even sure if he should trust Alec at this point, but sucking it up he followed him down the street. For a while they walked in silence, until Alec turned off into an allyway. It didn't look like people went down it often, cobwebs and overgrown plants with thistles crowded it, making it hard to make his way through.

Alec didn't seem to have a problem, expertly diving in between vines and thistles. "I think you're trying to get me killed!" He yelled and the only reply he got was a laugh.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime he fell out of the alleyway face first at the other end. He had multiple cuts and stings from thistles and stinging nettles, that wasn't the best thing he'd ever done.

A pair of shoes came into vision and he noticed that he was still lying on the floor. A hand came into vision and for a second he actually hesitated. What was he doing here?

Well, he guessed there was no point In questioning that now.

With a groan he reached up and took the hand. It was warm and Alec's soft hand tightened as it enclosed his and helped him up from the floor. It wasn't until he was standing that he finally looked around at where they were.

"Wow," he said his eyes widening. It was a wide grass space surrounded by bushes. It was completely cut off from the outside world, in fact it couldn't see any buildings despite having just come from a housed street. There were a couple benches placed in the middle on a small cemented platform, the grass was so green that he was sure that it had rarely been walked on, and on the outskirts just in front of the bushes were flowers; red, yellow and blue. This place was beautiful.

"You really have brought me here to kill me," he said and Alec gave another laughed and walked over one of the benches and sat down.

"If I wanted to kill you I would have left you in the alleyway," Alec sniggered and he walked over to join him.

"Then why did you bring me here, this place looks pretty special," he said still admiring his surroundings.

"I just wanted to share it beauty with someone. Ive been coming here so often lately, just to think about things and thought it might be time to bring someone else here, and you were being so insistent in following me that I just kind of thought, 'why not'," Alec replied looking into the bright blue sky. "And I want to murder you," Alec said beginning to giggle. Smiling letting a small laugh of his own fall from his lips as he turned to Alec suddenly confused.

"If I had found this place I would have wanted to keep it for myself," he said and Alec shrugged.

"I want someone to know where it is when I leave," Alec said and he frowned.

"Where are you going?" He asked and Alec shrugged again.

"I don't know, I just don't belong here so unless things get better here. I'm gone," Alec turned to look at him and smiled. "Enough sob stories," Alec said standing from the bench and moving back toward the alleyway.

"Why do you do that?" He asked not moving from his position on the bench. Alec turned back to him and raised his eyebrow.

"Do what?" He asked and smiled slightly.

"Walk away?" He replied thinking about every time that he'd ever talked to Alec. The boys smile shrank and he looked to the ground.

"I just showed you the only place that keeps me sane, told you something I haven't told anyone before, and like I said earlier, I'm not even sure if I trust you," and with that Alec disappeared through the alleyway, leaving him alone.


	4. Chapter 4

He stayed sitting on the bench of Alec's secret place until the sun went down. He thought a lot about what Alec had said, he actually felt a twinge of guilt about what he was doing.

Getting up he made his way back home, cutting himself in the alleyway more than he had the first time due to the lack of light. Checking his phone he noticed that Camille had been trying to contact him. Six missed calls and at least ten messages asking where he was.

He wasn't surprised that when he got back to his apartment that she was already inside waiting for him. She ran up to him and slapped him hard in the face.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" He yelled bringing his hand to his stinging face.

"I've been worried about you, and after all the calls and messages I sent you, you couldn't be bothered to send one text to let me know you were alive," she screamed. "I saw you leave with Alec, but when he came back without you I thought he might have killed you or something," Camille continued and he giggled.

"Well it was discussed," he said and this time before the hand could hit his cheek he caught her by the wrist. "Camille, stop hitting me. I'm sorry, I was just going along with your stupid plan," he said and dropped her hand which fell to her side.

"I was worried ok, would you not have been if it was me?" She asked and he sighed pulling her into a hug.

"Of course, I said I was sorry," he said as she wrapped her arms around him in return. Camille was the only one who made sure that he was alright, probably the closest to a mother figure that he'd ever have. But she wasn't his mother, she was his best friend. "You didn't need to come over, I would have gotten back to you," he said moving out of her arms and further into the apartment.

"Yeah well, it doesn't matter now. I've got to go, my parents are going to go mad if I don't reply to them soon," she winked and he laughed, shaking his head.

"You're terrible," he said and she laughed running towards the door, back to the best friend that he knew. She didn't get protective like that very often, and he'd forget that she could even be this way until something like this happened again.

Looking at the time, he decided that was just going to have an extra-long shower before going to bed.

...

"So where did you and Alec go yesterday?" Camille asked as they walked down the hall towards their first lesson. He'd thought about telling her about the secret hideaway, but decided that for now that it would be best to keep it to himself.

"Just for a walk, but when Alec wanted to back to school I decided to keep going," he replied looking straight ahead. He wasn't sure if he was looking for Alec, or just looking in general.

"And you went into a forest or something?" She asked and he frowned.

"I'm sorry?" He asked confused and she took a glance towards his hands and arms where tiny scratches laid randomly. "Oh, yeah. Alec decided that he wanted to go the most awkward way through it to," he said as they reached their first class. English.

He didn't find English to be that bad of a lesson. It was boring and he was sure that he could sleep through it, but it didn't make him want to bang his head against the desk like other lessons.

After that he had Chemistry (snore), then History (interesting) and before lunch, Maths (shudder). This time he managed to get through the whole lesson without getting kicked out. He had to say that he was quite proud of that considering how hard it was.

He didn't see Alec during lunch, or at all that day in matter of fact. He didn't have a way to contact him and went home wondering where he was. What if he had already left? Gone, like he'd said he wanted to be?

For the next couple of days he didn't see Alec at all, he'd thought about going to the secret hideaway but always second guested himself and decided not to go.

It wasn't until that Friday that he finally turned up, and he had to say that he glad to see him.

He and Camille were on their way to the cafeteria, and then he was suddenly walking towards him down the hall. Alec look at him directly in the eyes until he passed him. Walking down the hall and towards the exit without even turning back.

"What the hell was that?" Camille asked smirking. She had asked a couple times about how he was getting on with Alec but all he could say was that he hadn't progressed any further. He was glad that he'd only been gone three days because that wouldn't have been good enough for any longer. "You're like a god! Everyone just falls for you! Good job Mags," she continued hitting him lightly on the shoulder. She didn't have a clue.

"Yeah, well I have my ways. But I'm going to follow him, you know, the more time I spend with him the quicker I'll get a date, and then this nightmare will be over," he said like he was tired of chasing Alec around and Camille smiled cheekily.

"Fair enough, just don't catch any of his freak ok?" She laughed and he nodded turning to walk down the opposite direction of the corridor. "Go my minion," she yelled after him and he laughed turning to look over his shoulder and gave her a wink.

Once he was out of her sight, he quickly he made his way out of the school and walked towards the gate, speeding up his pace. He hoped that the look Alec had given him had meant that he was going to the secret hide away.

It took him a while to find the alleyway again, after walking past it twice he found it hiding half behind a bush. He must have not noticed that before. Pushing his way through it, he was more careful this time to make sure that he got minimal injuries. The scratches he'd gotten last time had just faded and he didn't want a repeat of them.

When he was finally through he was glad to see that his journey was not wasted. Alec laid on one of the benches looking up at the sky.

"I didn't think you were going to come, I wasn't even sure that you had gotten what I was trying to do in the hallway," Alec said turning his head to look at him.

He smiled and nodded. "I was pretty sure that I got what you meant, it was just finding my way back here that was the problem," he said moving further into the grassed area. He sat on the other bench across from Alec's, staring down at him intently.

"Where have you been? I've looked around for you," he said and Alec laughed turning into a sitting position.

"Magnus, we talked for two days in a row, and that's it. I didn't expect to have to tell you when I'm off sick" Alec said and there was a moment of silence.

"Right," he said awkwardly running his hand through his hair. He hadn't thought of that as a possibility. "Sorry, I don't mean to come off as clingy but when someone tells you they practically want to run away or do something to themselves, and then doesn't turn up to school the next day. That's a cause for being a little curious," he finished and looked to Alec who seemed amused.

"Did you tell anyone? About anything?" Alec asked and he noticed a flash of nervousness cross his features.

"Um, no of course not," he said and he could see that Alec wasn't quite sure. "I didn't think you'd want me to, so I kept it to myself," he urged and Alec nodded.

"Not even Camille?" He asked and he almost flinched at the name. He didn't like to think too much about what he was doing for her.

"No, not even her," he replied looking into Alec's eyes. He hadn't really noticed until now how blue they actually were.

"Ok, so I trust you. Now, what do you actually want from me? Someone like you doesn't just come along and want to be friends with someone like me? So what is it? A dare?" Alec quizzed him and the words actually hurt. Probably because they were true, he wouldn't have ever talked to him if he weren't doing this for Camille.

"No, nothing like that," he lied and stood moving to the same bench where Alec sat. He had to get this going so that he could end this. So things could go back to normal.

"Then what Magnus?" Alec said looking up at him with eyes like a dog who'd just been told off. He could hardly stand it.

"I heard a rumour," he started sitting on Alec's lap and running his hands through his hair. It was soft and his hands got lost in the black strands.

"Magn-,"Alec started shocked but he put a finger over his mouth to shush him. Removing his other hand from the boy's hair, he moved them to his chin, tilting up his face upwards slightly. Slowly, he lowered his head until both of their lips touched.


	5. Chapter 5

For a second nothing happened and he thought their whole plan was a bust. Alec wasn't gay, or he just wasn't attracted to him. The not being gay being the more likely option.

But then his mind exploded when Alec pushed their lips harder together. He'd never thought it would feel this good. His mind tried to switch the feeling off but was failing miserably.

But then suddenly he was falling backwards from Alec's lap and hitting the floor with a thud. His head span and the sky was a blue swirl in front of his eyes. Slowly his eyes focused back to Alec.

"What the hell was that?" Alec asked his eyes wide with surprise. Smiling he tilted his head at him.

"A kiss, what haven't you had one before?" Magnus joked sitting up on the floor. Alec look to the ground, did he look embarrassed? "Wait..., you really haven't kissed anyone?" He asked his mouth falling open.

"That shouldn't have happened, why did you do that?" Alec said ignoring what they had just spoke of.

"You kissed me back, and seemed to enjoy it s-" he started but Alec stood up from the bench towering about him, he stopped speaking immediately.

"So that makes it ok?" Alec asked and he was speechless. What was he supposed to say? "Everyone really does know I'm gay," Alec slumped back onto the bench and covered his face with his hands.

"So it's not a rumour then?" He asked and Alec didn't even look up at him. For a moment they sat in silence.

"Do you want to know why I've been so hot and cold with you? Why one minute I'm angry and then the next nothing but nice to you? It's because I've seen you around and you're so out and proud with who you are, I mean everyone knows you're bisexual and you don't care. I've admired that for so long, and I couldn't believe that someone like you would ever talk to me. I mean why would they? When you're perfect and I'm nothing," Alec finished his head still hidden behind his hands. He felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and handed to him.

"You're not nothing Alec," he said pushing himself up from the floor and moving to sit next to him. The bench creaked slightly under both of their weight and creaked again as he leaned over and wrapped one arm around Alec's back to comfort him. "You want to go do something? I don't feel like going back to class anyway," he said softly.

"I don't know," Alec said his voice tired. He wasn't crying, but he could he a slight wobble in his voice that said if they didn't do something soon then he would be.

"Come on, it'll be fun," he said standing up from the bench and reaching down to take Alec's hand. His skin was soft and he tugged lightly trying persuade him to come with him. For a second he thought he might have to give up, but then Alec tightened his grip and allowed him to pull him up from the bench.

"Ok," was all Alec said before giving his hand a squeeze and releasing it. Alec led the way through the alleyway, himself close behind but struggling to keep up.

He knew exactly where he was going to take him. As soon as they exited the alleyway he took the lead and turned right heading further away from the school. After around ten minutes he passed his flat building, he looked towards it but didn't say anything as they a passed and continued walking.

They walked in silence, Alec walking a couple steps behind. The further they walked the less buildings there were, until there were no buildings at all. After that it only took five minutes until they were finally there. "This is where I used to go when I needed to get away," he said looking at small play park. It had always been abandoned and that's what he liked about it. Now it was starting to fall apart, vandalised over the years. The climbing frame bend out of shape and the swings tangled like a shoe lace. The slide seemed to be the only thing remotely untouched.

"I imagine that it wasn't a pile of junk the last time you came here," Alec said standing next to him. Their arms were brushing causing a tingle to run down to his fingertips.

He felt a little disorientated looking at it. It had been years since he's been here back when he was living with his parents. He'd wanted to run away and see if they noticed. He made it to this park and waited until night fall before he returned. He wasn't surprised to find that no one had even noticed that he was gone. He used to return to the park once a week until he moved out and then just didn't anymore. He'd almost forgotten this place had existed.

"Yeah, well, it was a little less like a pile of junk then," he said sending Alec a smile. Alec gave a small snigger which made his smile widen.

"Why did you bring me here?" Alec asked and he shrugged. They both stood just outside of the parks broken gate, which was bent in a way that would make the gate stay constantly open.

"You showed me something special to you and so this is something that had once been important to me," He replied and Alec moved from beside him and into the park through the dislodged gate. He followed Alec as he made his way to a worn out bench and sat down, it groaned as he took a seat next to him making him feel like it could snap beneath them at any moment.

"You said 'had once', so what's important to you now?" Alec asked catching him off guard. He opened his mouth to answer before closing it again quickly. He couldn't think of anything.

"I don't know," he said quietly and Alec looked sideways at him.

"Oh, maybe you just don't need anything," Alec said and he didn't say anything. Looking up he looked at the slowly fading sky, shading its way into darkness.

For a moment there was silence which he decided to break. "Do you want to go on a date with me sometime?" He asked. This time it was time to catch Alec of guard and he turned quickly towards him with shock, nearly falling off the bench while doing it. Quickly he reached out for Alec and grabbed his arm to steady him.

"Whoa, it was just a question," he said nervously Camille's mischievous, smirking face popping into his head. Pushing it away he tuned back into Alec whose cheeks had turned red.

"Magnus, that's not just a question to me. I mean no one's ever...asked me before," Alec's voice was almost a whisper as he finished. Looking to the floor he felt a pit in his stomach. "Let me think about it?"

"Sure," he said giving Alec a small smile, just as his phone buzzed in his pocket. His smile shrank when he saw that it was Camille. A text saying that she was looking for him. "I've got to go, can you find your way back from here?" He asked standing and pulling his jacket tighter around himself, he hadn't noticed the wind had gotten so cold biting through the material of his clothing and attacking his skin.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Alec replied, though his voice bared a little disappointment. With a sigh he walked back through the gate pressing the dial button and bringing the phone close to his ear.

"Magnus!" Camille's voice at the end of the line sounded relieved. "You didn't come back to school again! The teachers are starting to ask questions, maybe you can flirt on the school grounds from now on," she continued and he looked over his shoulder making sure that he was far enough away from Alec that he couldn't hear. The boy was still sitting on the bench where he had left him almost half a mile away now.

Turning back he replied. "I'll try, he doesn't like school, and I don't blame him really". He listened to Camille scoff.

"Oh don't tell me you're actually starting to like him," She had the sound of distaste in her tone and he could almost visualise the sneer on her lips.

"No of course not," he replied picking up his speed. "I asked him out on a date," he continued earning a screech which forced him to move the phone away from his ear. When it ceased he brought it back.

"What did he say?" She said with pure excitement now.

"He said he'd think about it. I still don't think he fully trusts me," he said the pit in his stomach growing like a sinkhole.

"He will," Camille replied a short laugh following behind.


	6. Chapter 6

He met up with Camille the next morning in front of the school. She had her usual smug look on her face. "Morning beautiful," she said with a giggle, looping her arm in his as they started into the building and turned left down the corridor. "What's up?" She asked. When he didn't reply she tugged on his arm, stopping them in the middle of the hallway making everyone swerve to go around them.

"Look, the Alec thing. I don't know if this is a good idea," he said. He'd been up all night going through what had happened so far between him and Alec, he knew this wasn't right and needed to come to an end.

"What? Magnus! You're almost there, why the cold feet again? You said you didn't like him so what's the problem?" She said sternly, her voice so low that he had to strain to hear what she was saying.

"His could really hurt him Camille," he replied and she scoffed, turning away from him and continuing down the hall. "You do like him," she said sounding hurt, like this was the worst thing he could ever do to her. He followed after her, quickening his pace until he was level with her.

"I don't, but it doesn't mean he's done anything to deserve this," he said and she swung around and stared at him, her eyes were on fire like her anger had been so powerful that it had caught her alight.

"He did!" She screamed stamping her foot, the heel of her shoe making the sound of a gunshot ring through the hallway. People jumped and stared towards them. He looked to the floor to hide his face, more out of annoyance than embarrassment.

"I knew there was something more to this," he hissed and took her lightly by the arm. He pulled her to the side of the hallway, glad that the hallway was emptying as students reached their classes and slipped inside. "What the hell did he do?" He asked dreading the answer, Camille always held a grudge.

"His family Mags, were the ones who took over my dad's company," Camille grounded out between her teeth.

He had heard about what happened thousands of times, some big man had swooped in and bought out her father's business so that they could claim it as their own. But in the long run Camille's father had been the one better off.

"But didn't that help your father," he argued his thought earning a glare in return.

"You didn't see him that day Mags. He'd given up on everything, it doesn't matter that it turned out for the better, it could have torn us apart," she said taking his hand and holding it to her heart. "I thought we were best friends. I'd put you before anyone, would you not do the same for me?" She asked and guilt set in.

"Of course I would, but you can't blame Alec for what happened Camille," he said and Camille dropped his hand, pushing him to the side roughly before storming down the corridor without him. Sighing, he turned and followed the same way down the hall, walking slowly towards his first class alone.

...

The whole day was a bore. Camille wasn't talking to him which made it worse, she was not the kind of person you wanted to be on the wrong side of. Though, he knew their friendship was strong and she would come back to him eventually. They had been through too much to let stuff like this with get to them. Which is why he went looking for her once the final bell had rung.

He found her talking to a bunch of people who he didn't know and who he expected Camille didn't know either. Tapping her on the shoulder he regarded her with a smile.

"What do you want?" She said stubbornly hugging the text book that she always carried but never used to her chest.

"Camille," he said shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'm bored, you'll have to start talking to me at some point," he continued and she turned and shooed the group that had fallen silent as soon as he had walked over. They walked away, looking over their shoulders at them ever so often.

"Let me just ask you this," she said and he focused back in on them. "Would it not hurt him more if you just stopped talking to him? Because from what I can see you've made a lot of progress, you've closer to him than anyone in this school ever has. And I'll make this clear, if you're going to be friends with him, you're no friend of mine," she finished simply, before walking away calmly this time. He looked after her, thinking of what she had said. She was right, either way he would hurt Alec and he cared too much for Camille to lose her.

And right now he needed Camille- his best friend who always had his back when he needed her- more than he needed Alec, the boy he'd just met.

Bringing out his phone he sent a text. 'Fine, I'll continue' - MB. He watched as Camille- still visible on the other side of the car park- took out her phone and read his text. She looked over to him, and he could see the big smile as she looked at the text again and then back at him before blowing him a kiss and continuing towards her car.

His stomach was heavy. Nothing felt like the right decision. Someone would always get hurt. With another sigh he walked towards the gate and headed back towards his apartment. As he was walking he didn't even notice that he had walked past his apartment building until he was standing in front of the abandoned park. His heart skipped a beat.

Maybe he did still need this place after all.

Making his way through the unusable gate, he made his way to the bench where he and Alec sat the day before. Sitting down he felt the wood creak loudly. The bench wasn't going to last much longer, but seemed to be strong enough for now as the creaking silenced. He listed to the wind in the nearby trees, their leaves crinkling and branches swaying.

The quiet gave him time to zone out and not think about anything. He used to meditate so being able to push things from his mind for a short while was easy.

"Magnus".

A voice forced him to open his eyes even though he hadn't even noticed he'd closed them. The shock sent him sprawling backward off of the bench and he hit the solid mud floor with a thud. "What the hell?" He groaned looking up to see Alec standing above him with a smug grin on his face. His hands were in his pockets of his black skinny jeans. He wore a ragged dark blue jumper on his top half which went with his mess up hair, swaying softly in the wind.

"I didn't think you'd fall. You were just sitting there with your eyes closed. A lot on your mind?" The boy asked offering his hand. He took it and allowed himself to be hauled from the ground. He brushed himself down of a couple leaves that had clung to his green blazer and black jeans.

"Maybe," he replied finally turning to look at Alec. His eyes were shining like he'd not seen before, it brightened his face and made him smile.

"Well then I'm probably going to add to that," Alec said wrapping his arms around himself. Was he nervous? "I'm saying yes," he continued his voice quieter and shy. His cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he finished.

"Yes?" He replied confused and Alec's eyes widened in embarrassment, his cheeks darkening to a rose red. Alec turned to walk away but he reached out and grabbed his arm. Softly he pulled him back.

"To the date, I remember. I was just shocked you said yes that's all," he said and Alec looked to the ground.

"Bad shock?" Alec asked. He wanted to scream 'yes' because it would mean that he wouldn't have to lie like this anymore.

But instead he reached out for Alec's hand. Taking it in his, he laced their fingers together his heart thumping out of his chest. "Of course not," he replied.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for 200 Kudos' and 100 Subscribers!!! It means the world to me, so thank you!! I hope you are all liking this fic! Also, i'm so sorry it's taken so long to update this chapter! But enjoy!! :)

Looking in the mirror at himself he sighed. Something wasn't quite right. He pulled off yet another waistcoat and threw it over his shoulder. He barely heard it land with a light thud on the floor.

He looked in the mirror for a second longer before turning and marching over on his closet. Yanking it open he started to flick through a rainbow of waistcoats and suit jackets, all of them a different colours and styles.

When he found none he liked he growled turning away from it. "Nothing's right!" He said aloud to himself. Closing his eyes he calmed down. "What am I doing? This is only for Camille's sick joke anyway," he mumbled walking towards the bed and scooping up the black regular waistcoat from the bed and pulling it on.

"This will do Magnus," he continued starting to annoy himself. He'd spent over three hours trying to get ready for his and Alec's date and still felt like he didn't look good enough.

As he went back to the mirror to take a final look there was a small knock on the front door of his flat. Straightening himself out, he turned and walked towards the door. There was a weird feeling settling in his chest unlike he had ever felt before, not even before a date.

Swallowing and repressing it, he put on a smile and reached for the door handle, twisting the cold metal and slowly pulling the door open. He caught the glimpse of Alec's black hair and the suddenly he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him.

Alec cleaned up well. He wore a full black suite with a black bow tie tied perfectly around his neck. His hair was styled into a small wave on his head which almost put his to shame. Almost.

He also wore a shy smile which caused his heart to race.

"Are you ok?" Alec asked this facial expression now seeming more amused than happy.

"Y-yes darling of course….you look amazing," he replied blinking a few times to make sure that this whole ordeal was real. Reaching out his hand he took Alec's and gently pulled him inside.

"Thank you. You too, do also... Look good," Alec said turning red with embarrassment as he stumbled over his wording. He laughed, letting go of Alec's hand so that he could grab his wallet and keys off of the kitchen table. "Do you live here alone?" Alec asked and he turned to see that he was looking around the apartment curiously.

"Umm, yes I do. My parents come and check on me though," he lied. "It's like a deal that was made a while ago, me and parents didn't get along so they moved me out," he finished slightly embarrassed. He'd never felt so ashamed about what had happened.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Alec said but he shrugged it off and gave a smile.

"Ready to go?" He asked avoiding further questions and Alec nodded a smile of his own returning.

"Yeah," Alec replied. He headed for the front door grazing Alec's arm slightly sending a spark through his body.

Alec followed just at his heels as they left the kitchen, and followed the black hallway to the front entrance. "So... Where are we going?" Alec asked as they exited his apartment.

"This little restaurant I know," he said giving Alec a smile over his shoulder. For the past three days since Alec had said yes to their date he had been searching for the right place, not just a date worthy place, but a hidden place where no one could get in their way. He had been walking down a street, a block down and then he'd spotted it. A small restaurant that he hadn't even known was there, he'd walked inside and had a meal by himself and came to the conclusion that it was perfect.

It was old fashioned, the Orange paint peeling off the front of it, and the name faded and hardly readable. There wasn't a window at the front of it, just one in the door which lead into the main restaurant.

"Taki's," Alec reading looking up at the sign confused. It didn't look too romantic from the outside he had to say. They had gotten there quickly, chatting small talk here and there, a smile on their faces and awkward giggles.

Once inside, they were lead to their seats which he had booked the last time he had been there.

He had chosen to sit in a small booth at the back of the restaurant out of the way of other customers. Their booth was made of dark wood, with black leather seating. There were other booths dotted about between normal oak wood tables and standard wooden chairs. It matched the dark brown walls and the plain white ceiling.

The lights were dimmed and gave a calming feeling, the light glow of a white wax candle burnt in the middle of the table as he had asked for in his booking. He smiled, this was perfect.

He looked over to Alec who was looking around slightly in awe. "What do you think?" He asked and Alec's eyes found his way back to him.

"It's...amazing Magnus. I didn't think..., I mean, I didn't know that you would pull something like this off," Alec said and he could see from his wiggling shoulders that he was fiddling with his hands on his lap.

Taking a breath he put his hands on the table upwards asking for Alec's. At first Alec just stared at them, but slowly he brought his hand up from under the table and place them softly in his. They were shaking slightly, as if he was terrified that this was happening.

He watched as Alec's eyes darted about conscious of people around the restaurant judging them. He couldn't help but think that was adorable and help his hands a little tighter.

"What are you hungry for? They literally sell every kind of food that you can imagine," he laughed and Alec giggled.

"Really?" He asked and he slid his hands away from Alec's almost regrettably and reached for the menu which was standing on the edge of the table. He handed it to Alec and watched as his eyebrows raised and his eyes skimmed the laminate. "Wow, really!" Alec answered his own question causing them both to laugh.

He loved when Alec laughed, it was a shame that he didn't do it more often. It was like a dream th-.

No.

I can't fall for him.

I won't.

He felt his whole mood shrink into a deep pit in his stomach. His excitement fading away.

"Are you ok? You're frowning," Alec said and he forced his smile back onto his lips.

"Yes, sorry just forgot I had homework. Which is not something I should bring up on a date," he said and let his head sink to the table his head lightly hitting the dark wood.

"Magnus Bane, did I just see you blush?" Alec laughed and his head flew back up right.

"N-no!" He said bring his hands up to hide his face also starting to giggle.

When the waiter came over he decided to order some Thai food, while Alec went with burger and chips. Not even changing his mind when he called him boring.

They were just about done with their food, talking about his falling apart park when he noticed that Alec had tomato ketchup on his upper lip.

"You have...," he said and gestured towards his own face in the position the sauce was on Alec's. Though, Alec wiped the wrong side.

"Did I get it?" He asked and he shook his head leaning over the table, using his thumb to lightly wipe off the red sauce, his fingers slightly brushing under Alec's chin. Their eyes caught, staring intently he was sure that he was getting lost in a sea of blue. So lost that he didn't even know that he was leaning in until the waiter interrupted them just as their lips were about to touch.

"What?" He sighed sending a dirty look to the woman who stood there looking proud of themselves.

"I said can I take your plates?" She asked her voice high and irritating.

"Sure, I guess," he said slumping back into his seat. "As long as Alec's done," he added and she looked towards the other boy. His face was red, he didn't know if it was embarrassment, anger or lust which had caused it but he nodded and allowed the woman to walk away with their almost empty plates.

"Do you want to get out of here?" He asked and Alec looked up to him and nodded.

"Yeah," Alec replied and he put his hand up to collect the bill, leaning forward to blow out the candle which he was glad that he hadn't knocked over when leaning over the table.

"I'll pay," Alec said digging his hand into his pocket but he shook his head and put his free hand out.

"No way, I'm paying," he replied and Alec raised an eyebrow still digging in his pockets.

"Don't think so," Alec continued and he laughed.

"Alec, I am taking you on the date. Which means I pay," he said more forcefully and Alec paused and smiled.

"Fine, but I'm paying for the next one," Alec let slip and then they both fell silent. Like he'd told a dirty secret.

"You want to go out with me again?" He said his heart skipping a beat.

"Y-yes, of course. Do you want to go on another date?" Alec asked and he found himself nodding before he could even stop himself.

He paid, giving the waiter a small tip due to the interruption and they left with smiles on their faces. They wandered back towards his apartment slowly, their hand brushing but not joining together.

"Do you want me to walk you back to your apartment or house or where ever you may live?" He asked and Alec shook his head biting his lip slightly, though the edges of his lips curved up into a smile.

"No, I have a taxi coming to pick me up from yours," he replied and he nodded. With every brush of their fingertips a rush of static ran up his arm and through his body. It was as if they could light a whole city together.

"Ok, back to mine it is," he laughed and Alec smiled, his heart tightened.

This couldn't be happening. Not with him. He could lose everything.

Then why did this feel so right?

They turned the last corner onto his street. "Are you coming in?" He asked and Alec nodded slightly.

"Maybe for a few minutes," Alec said biting his lip again. Maybe it was a nervous tick? Whatever it was he wished that it lasted forever.

As they approached his apartment building he saw a figure waiting by the doors. He tried to focus his eyes on them. Who was it? It couldn't be for him could it?

Wait. No. Why would she be here? She knew what he was doing tonight. They'd had a full on talk about it. Camille.

"Mags!" She yelled and ran towards him. Alec moved away from him considerably and stopped as he continued forward into Camille's arms.

"Camille, what the hell are you doing here?" He whispered harshly into her ear. He was furious.

"I changed my mind, I can't stand to see my best friend fake dating a freak like him any longer. It's not what you want so am allowing you to stop. I'm here to expose you and see the look on his stupid face, and then we can go back to hanging out all the time again," She explained in the same low tone so Alec couldn't hear and he felt his heart fall out of his chest. After all of this? After all of the encouraging? All of it for nothing?

"Camille no," he said so loud that Alec looked over from where he was standing on the sidewalk.

"What do you mean no?" She said looking up and down, anger growing in her voice.

She knew that they would both be coming back to the apartment. How long had she been waiting for them? His heart shattered.

"I just mean don't ok?! Please Camille," he begged and Camille squinted at him. As if he could see right through him, and she probably could. They had known one another for so long that he'd be surprised if she didn't, and that's why she calling this off. She could already see it.

"See you at school Magnus," she said before turning and walking furiously away. Her hips swaying sharply as she went.

There was a moment of silence. It sliced through him like a knife, a blade right through the heart. "What was all that about?" Alec asked softly, walking towards him.

"Nothing, it was about nothing. I think that's for you," he said pointing to a yellow taxi that was pulling up onto the sidewalk. Alec looked over his shoulder to the cab and then back at him, the look of disappointment engraved on his face.

"Um, yeah. Thank for a great night Magnus," Alec said and he leaned in slightly giving Alec a kiss on the cheek. The feel of his lips on Alec's soft skin almost overwhelmed him, but he pulled away and stepped back.

"Bye," he said and Alec slowly walked backward staring at him for a second before turning and walking away. He watched until the taxi left and stared after it as it got lost around a corner. Leaving him standing outside his apartment building alone.

"Damn it!" He yelled into the wind.


	8. Chapter 8

As he walked into the high school gates, he felt alone. Which was something that he'd hadn't felt in a long time. He had tried to call Camille many times to try to explain to her what was going on in his head. Though, he didn't really know what he would have said if she had answered.

People were swarming around the school like it was a wasp's nest, barley avoiding one another.

Looking around he hoped he could spot someone he could talk to. Camille...Alec even. But there was no one. And to top it off he had Maths first. With a heavy groan he marched down the corridor with his head held high. No one would know that anything was wrong.

He walked into the class giving his teacher a wink, only to be given a glare in return, and turned to see that Camille was sitting on their regular table, only his seat was taken. A girl he had only seen around and had never talked to now sat giggling with his best friend. She was a petite girl with blue eyes and light brunette hair. She could be beautiful if she hadn't put an extreme amount of make up on. It almost stole her identity.

He stormed up to the table where Camille and her new best buddy sat with smiles on their faces. He put two hands down on the table and leaned in towards Camille who sat on the left side of the two seated desk.

"I've been trying to call you, to explain...," he said anger starting to build up. He tried to force it down but his tone still came out harsh.

"I don't want to hear it," she replied her tone equally as angry.

"You're the one who wanted me to do this! You know I didn't want to!" He replied his voice now in an angry whisper.

"Oh Magnus, don't tell me that you didn't want to do it because you enjoyed every second of it! I saw the way you're eyes started to light up when we talked about that freak," Camille said not bothering to keep quiet causing half the class to look over curiously.

He looked towards the table and bit his lip not wanting to respond badly to what she'd just said about Alec.

"You're my best friend Camille, he's nothing compared to you," he said feeling his heart tearing two ways. He like Alec... Yes, maybe even more than a friend. But Camille had been his best friend for years, she'd helped him get through so much and he wasn't ready to let all those memories go.

He looked up into Camille's eyes and anger flared up in them. "I had never felt so embarrassed than when you pushed me aside for a freak who ruined my family. How dare you Magnus! Get out of my face and go back to your freak," she said getting louder as she got more heated. Standing up she gave him a shove backwards causing him to lift his arms from the table and stumble backwards.

"That's enough you two," the voice of his teacher behind him made is jump slightly. "Magnus get out," the man continued and he frowned and turned to face his teacher head on.

He opened his mouth to give his teacher a mouth full, but after a long second let it fall close again. "Whatever," he mumbled and headed towards the door, brushing his teachers arm slightly as he went. He left the room, which was now completely silent, eyes on the door that he left closing behind him.

He walked quickly down the corridor towards the exit, letting the walls of lockers blur as he left them behind, eyes focused on the door. Of the outside.

He saw a familiar figure turn the corner of the T junction of corridor he'd just passed. "Magnus!" Alec called, but he walked past him not looking him in the face, and out of the entrance to the school. This was not what he needed right now.

The air was chilly and he reached up to pull his jacket further around him. "Magnus, wait," Alec called out again as he reached the bottom of the steps.

"Not now Alec," he said and quickened his pace. Though, he could hear Alec footsteps get faster as he continued to follow him.

"Did I do something wrong?" Alec's voice didn't sound sad, just disappointed.

He trusts you... He could hear the soft words ringing in his head. Like it was being said all over again. His stomach tightened.

All that progress he'd made.

He slowed his pace, before slowing again and stopping altogether. Turning, he shook his head keeping his head straight so that he could look into Alec's eyes. "Of course not," he sighed, Alec kept walking towards him until they were only an arms length apart from each other. "I'm sorry, I'm just annoyed at Camille that's all," he said letting his eyes slip from Alec's and fall to the floor.

"The people you love are always going to be the ones who hurt you the most," Alec said and he looked up. Alec had a small but tight smile on his face. He was wearing his brown wool jumper that seemed to be falling apart at the sleeves, and black skinny jeans which looked like they had been painted onto his slim legs. "My brother Jace always says, 'to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed'".

"Your brother is wise," he said a small smile spreading across his own cheeks.

"He definitely thinks so," Alec said with a smile in return.

"I'm going to go," he said taking a couple steps back towards the school gates. He couldn't be here for the rest of the day. Not after that. What happened in Maths would be all over the school by the end of second period.

"My hideout or yours," Alec asked and he smiled, turning around to walk forward towards the gate.

"Yours," he yelled over his shoulder. He didn't need to turn around to know that Alec was smiling and his heart warmed.

He continued to walk, not looking over his shoulder to see if Alec was following him. He relied on the heavy sound of footsteps behind him to know that he was there at all.

He didn't stop, not even when he got to the alleyway. He pushed himself through the thistles, gasping every few seconds when one ripped through his skin.

"Calm down Magnus, you're hurting yourself," Alec said from just behind him. The first words he'd said since they'd left the school.

He reached the end and paused, waiting for Alec to emerge from the bush. As he appeared he grabbed his arms and pulled him into a tight hug. For a second Alec was tense, but then he relaxed and he felt arms wrapping around his back.

"Is she mad at you, or are you mad at her?" Alec asked and he pulled back. He walked backwards until the back of his legs hit a bench and fell down into it.

"Darling, it's my fault," he whispered and let his head fall into his hands. The only way she's forgive him is if he stopped talk to Alec and did something that would hurt him. "I don't know if I can fix it," he said pushing the palms into his eyes until everything was dark.

"She's your friend, surely she'll forgive you over time?" Alec asked his voice a little high, as if he wasn't sure of what he was saying.

"I'm pretty sure that Camille could hold a grudge for hundreds of years if she wanted to," he said raising his head from his hands. He squinted at the sudden light and turned to see that Alec had taken a seat next to him on the bench. He hadn't even felt him sit down.

"You and Camille have been close friends for a long time... Friendships like that don't just come along, you have to fight for it," Alec said and he looked to him. He didn't want to give either of them up. Not Camille. Not Alec.

But he couldn't have both...

"Ok... I'll fight for her friendship," he said looking mournfully at Alec.


	9. Chapter 9

It had been two days since he'd last talked to either Camille or Alec. He barely left his apartment. The school had called but he's just told them he was too sick to come in; they'd had no reason not the believe him and left him alone.

He needed to think, but even now he couldn't think of anything that would allow him to keep both Camille and Alec in his life, not without lying too one or both of them.

Walking over to his window he brushed his fingers through his non-gelled hair. He peered out onto the darkened streets. The street lights were on and cast a dull glow onto certain patches of pavement, while other parts rest in the shadows.

He sighed, the whole street was always quiet. Nothing really ever happened here, not unless it was him who caused it.

Pulling the curtains closed he headed to bed. He wasn't used to doing nothing and it had taken its toll. Crawling into his bed he closed his eyes and fell asleep instantly.

...

The phone dialed against his ear before going straight to the answering machine. He looked to the floor and waited for the beep.

"Camille, look I'm sorry. Please come over and make up with me. My life is a considerable amount more boring without you... Call me back," he finished and hung up the phone. He shoved the phone into his pocket and gave a loud sigh. He had been staring at his phone a majority of the morning before he'd actually had the courage to pick it up and ring Camille's number.

Moving to stand up from the living room couch, there was a knock on the door causing him to pause mid standing. He looked towards it curiously for a moment before walking towards it and pulling the door open.

"Oh...Alec," he said surprised his mouth falling open.

"This is the third day that you haven't turned up for school... I was worried about you," Alec's voice was soft. His mouth still open with shock, he tried to figure out the words he wanted to present Alec with.

"I'm sorry... I-I," he started, when the phone in his pocket started to buzz.

He knew that it had to be Camille. This would be his only chance to talk to her, he wouldn't be given a second. "I'm sorry, I really can't do this right now, I've got to go," he said in a utter panic before closing the door in Alec's face.

His heart ached at the thought of what he'd just done and his eyes welled up with tears as he rooted around in his pocket for his phone cursing himself.

When he finally got hold of it he pressed the accept call button just in time, and brought it to his ear.

"Camille," he said but she didn't let him say another word.

"Magnus, I'm willing to forgive you because I love you, you're my best friend. But you've got to stop seeing Alec," her voice was small but serious. Looking to the floor he let a tear fall from one of his eyes and down his cheek.

"Ok, I'll stop," he replied using his free hand to wide away the sliding tear before it fell from his chin. He looked towards the door which Alec would no longer be standing behind and his stomach clenched. Why was he still debating what he wanted? There was no way to get out of this without hurting someone.

"Ok..., I'll see you at school tomorrow?" Camille said going back to her loud self. "I have so much to tell you, you have no idea," she continued and he headed back to the couch and fell into it as Camille went into a rant.

It was nice to hear her talk about stuff that didn't really matter to him again. But there was something different now, he suddenly felt the need to defend all the people that she spoke badly about. But he didn't, he kept quiet and listened to her voice.

...

The next day things almost went back to the way it used to be. Just him and Camille roaming the corridors together. Until he saw Alec at lunch, Camille was getting her lunch and he was sitting at the table alone until Alec wandered over.

"Hey Magnus, what happened last night? You've been acting really weird lately, is it something I've done?" He asked leaning over him and his stomach ached as he looked into his beautiful eyes.

"No, I just can't talk to you anymore. I'm sorry," he said quietly before standing up and walking away from him. He was finding this a lot harder than he thought it would be.

"Wait!" He heard an angry voice from behind him and suddenly Alec was back at his side and grabbing his arm.

"Alec-," he started, yanking his arm back but the other boy shook his head.

"No, I trusted you. I fell for you and now I don't get an explanation for why you're just suddenly done with me? I knew I shouldn't have trusted you," Alec ranted finishing just as Camille showed up at his side.

"What's this creeper doing here Magnus?" She said her words strong and spiteful. Alec's eyes diverted to the floor, like he couldn't stand to look at the pair of them.

"I don't know, he just walked up to me," he replied surprising even himself. It was like it wasn't even him talking anymore.

Alec's mouth fell open slightly in shock, before he turned and walked away from them. He watched him as he left the cafeteria, he didn't even look back and he felt awful.

"Freak," Camille muttered before leading them back to the table which he had walked away from. "I don't know why he'd ever though he'd have a chance with someone like you," she said shoving a chip into her mouth once they had sat down.

He had to hold his tongue, bite it even to stop from saying something along the lines of 'shut up! You ruined everything, unless he might have had a chance'. The thought scared him a little, had he felt like he could actually be with Alec? It doesn't matter now anyway, he had ruined everything. He couldn't blame Camille.

"I don't feel good," he said standing up from the table, holding his stomach. Everything was churning, he felt sick and dizzy. Camille look up at him concerned.

"Magnus, you don't look good. Maybe you should go to the nurse?" Camille stood up and came around the table towards him. She laid the back of her hand on his forehead and hummed.

"I'm going home," he said before she could comment and turned towards the cafeteria exit. His stomach felt heavy and sour.

"I'll come with you and make sure you get home safe," Camille offered but he shook his head.

"I'm fine, I can do it on my own," he replied dismissively and took off towards the exit. He made it to the edge of the car park before he threw up his breakfast. He really had felt ill, probably more due to stress that any actually illness.

He felt a lot better and found himself, instead of walking home, walking towards Alec's hideaway. He didn't even really care if he was there, he just needed something that made him feel safe.

As he shoved his way through the alleyway he didn't feel the pain of the thistles this time and when he finally got through he paused.

Alec was here. Sitting in the bench looking to the floor. "Alec," he said and the boy look up at him. It was void of much emotion, only a blank look.

"You can't come here anymore? Or have you already told Camille where it is and she's going to turn up next?" Alec said angrily, standing up and taking a step towards him. He was almost glad of the emotion.

His chest hurt and he was desperate too feel something. Feel Alec close to him. He ran forward and took hold of Alec's black hoodie before pulling him against him and landing a hard kiss to the boys' lips. Alec seemed to respond straight away, pulling him closer and wrapping his arms around his waist. The touch was like lightening and he felt so alive.

The kiss eventually became slow and Alec pulled back first. He was so disappointed about the kisses end that he went in for a second but Alec move his lips out of reach.

"Why are you doing this? One minute you can't talk to me anymore and the next you're kissing me? I can't...," Alec let his words run off into nothing and he nodded.

"I know, I'm even confusing myself. It's how I made up with Camille, she doesn't seem to like you and she said she'd forgive me if I stopped seeing you, but I-i can't...," he finished taking Alec's hand and holding it against his chest.

"Why would she want that?" Alec asked and he felt like there was a hole in his chest. This was his chance to tell him everything and he would either be forgiven, or Alec would never talk to him again.

He didn't know if he could stand it if Alec never spoke to him again.

"I don't know," he lied his decision quick and the weight on his shoulders got evermore heavier. "It might be because I was skipping school and spending more time with you than I was with her," he finished and looked into Alec's eyes.

"Oh...," Was all Alec said. There wasn't much more he could have said.

"Which is why you can't talk to me in school," he said looking to the floor. There was a pause of silence where he stared intently into the grass, before he felt a force on his chin making him look up into Alec's eyes. The fingers rested there for another moment before Alec released him and dropped his hand to his side.

"Ok, I won't talk to you in school, or anywhere if you don't want me to," Alec said before turning away. He quickly reached out and took hold of Alec's arm stopping him from moving away.

"That's not what I want, let's meet here every day after school. Please, I still want to see you Alec, but I don't want to lose Camille either," he said never feeling so sure about anything than he did right now.

Alec stayed turned away from him for a second, before slowly turning back towards him. There was a moment of silence where they both looked into one another's eyes. "I want to see you too... Fine, I'm in," Alec said breaking the silence, before wrapping his arms around his waist, holding him tight. He wrapped his arms around Alec in return, resting his chin in his dark, messy hair.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been a week since he and Alec had started meeting in secret. Every day after school he would say goodbye to Camille and watch as she disappeared from the school parking lot. Not even a second after she was gone he'd break out into a run and head for Alec's hide away, and without fail Alec was always there sitting on a bench his eyes bright and welcoming.

He'd never been so excited for the end of school than he had for the past week and even now as he raced down the street after a long weekend, he had a smile on his face as big as an elephant.

Everything had been going well and Camille had even, for the past couple days stopped mentioning Alec at all. It was refreshing because his stomach had churned every time she'd made a derogatory comment.

As he finally reached the alleyway he forced his way through carefully, he done this so many times now that he was finding a technique. When he fell out the other side Alec sat in his usual space on the bench a small smile on his face.

"Why do you always run here? I'm not going anywhere," Alec laughed and he gave a toothy grin as he puffed a breath and leant down, hands on his knees.

"Because I don't want to waste any time," he said standing back up straight and stumbling over to Alec before falling into the space on the bench next to him.

"We've only just met," Alec said and he crossed his legs up on the bench and turned his head to look into Alec's beautiful eyes.

"It feels like I've known you forever, I can't explain it," he said and Alec reached over and took his hand. It was warm but slightly sweaty, he didn't mind though he was sure his were the same. "I really like you Alec," he said and Alec averted his eyes to the floor looking nervous.

"I like you a lot too Magnus, which is why I'm so afraid I'm going to lose you," Alec look back up and he leant over, placing a kiss on the boys cheek.

"Don't be... Alec I want you to be my boyfriend," he said taking hold of Alec's hand and lacing their fingers together.

"Y-you do? Magnus, I-,"

"You don't have to, just think about it ok?" He smile and Alec nodded quietly, settling down on to the bench.

...

His eyes fell open as the sound of a bang. It took a second to notice that it was his front door. Magnus groaned and slowly rolled out of bed before heading for the noise.

"What?!" He said as he grabbed the handle and pulled. His stomach sank when his eyes caught who it was. "Darren...," he said as the boy came at him arms wide. He'd almost forgotten that the boy had existed... until now.

"Hello babe," Darren whispered but he put his arms out stopping him in his tracks.

"I can't do this," he said making sure his voice was stern and clear.

"Aw come on Mags, do we have to go through this every time? We both know that we're going to sleep together tonight," Darren smiled and came at him again, wrapping his arms around him and kissing his neck. He couldn't smell any alcohol, which at least meant he wasn't drunk.

"No, I mean it this time," he replied trying to unravel himself from Darren's grip. But the grip on him only tightened.

"Of course you don't," Darren whispered the kissing starting to move up his neck and towards his mouth.

"Stop it!" He said giving him a forceful shove, which caused Darren to let go and him to lose his footing and fall to the floor with a thud.

"What the hell Magnus?" Darren said a frown carved into his face, the smile which had been there before had been wiped away.

"Just get out," he said pushing himself back to his feet. "I said I can't do this," he said his arm extended, pointing towards the door.

"A-are you seeing someone?" Darren's tone changing, turning into something light, friendly even.

"No... Not yet. I just can't do this tonight," he said and Darren nodded before starting to back away towards the still open door.

"Well, I'll come back another time then," Darren winked and before he could protest he had disappeared out of the front door and slammed it closed behind him.

For a moment he stood in silence staring at the now closed door. There was no way that he could stop Darren from coming back. Next time he'd have to make it clear that he was done with these hook ups. He had Alec now. Well, he hoped he did.

...

The next morning he made it into the classroom just as the bell rang. Camille was already sitting in her seat at the back of the classroom and their English teacher nodded her head towards him to let him know that he'd just made it on time.

"You're later than normal, another late night?" Camille nodded with a wink and he gave a small smile.

"Yeah I guess, Darren knocked on my door and I had to get rid of him," he sighed and slumped back into his chair staring up at the ceiling.

"You did? Wow Mags that must be some kind of record," Camille giggled and he turned his head to give her a glare.

"Har har, very funny," he spat as the door to the classroom opened and Alec walked in the room. He knew that they were in the same class but Alec hardly turned up. But there was something different about him. The way he angled himself away from the class.

He paused before pushing himself into the upright position in his chair. He wanted to call his name but he could feel Camille's eyes burning into the side of his head and averted his eyes.

"Look what the cat finally dragged to class," Camille commented and he bit his tongue. Something's wrong.

He watched Camille as her eyes widened slightly, before a small smile crept into her cheeks. He quickly moved his eyes back to Alec, who had turned to face the class now as he moved towards his seat on the other side of the room.

He could see what Camille had been so happy about now. Alec had a black eye, big and purple covering his left eye. He almost leapt out of his seat as his heart skipped several beats.

"What the hell?" He whispered his hands turning to fists under the table.

"What? I didn't hear what you said," Camille said confused but he just shook his head and dismissed her with the small swipe of his hand.

Through the rest of the duration of the class his mind wouldn't stop running through all of the things that could have happened to him. He hardly paid attention as Camille ranted about a cute boy she'd seen in the corridor who had given her a wink. Someone had hurt Alec, he couldn't think of another way that a mark like that could happen. It's hard to fall on just one eye, or both for the matter of fact.

As soon as class was over, as they had just made it out into the buzzing corridor he turned to Camille. "I'm going home, I'm tired and there's no way I can concentrate," he started, his words running off and he looked to the ceiling to keep himself in check. He didn't know if he was upset or angry.

"Mags are you sure? You're going to be kicked out of school if you keep leaving like this." She said and paused for a second and then her tone changed. "Wait, is it because of Alec?" Her face shifted and her eyes narrowed.

"No; look Camille, you know I haven't talked to him at all since we made up," he lied, leaning against the wall of the corridor. Camille continued her knowing glare and he sighed.

"Fine, I think I can make it until the end of the day. Just don't asked me to actually be productive in any classes," he groaned as Camille took him by the hand and half dragged him towards History class, a grin on her face.

On the way he managed to catch another glimpse of Alec putting books into his locker. He could hardly stand not being able to talk to him, but when he tried to catch his eye, Alec turned away.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you're all enjoying this fic! The support has been amazing so thank you again <3 xxx

He watched the clock tick along as if it were the most interesting thing in the room, counting down the seconds until the end of the day. It had been agonising waiting, knowing that something had gone wrong but not being able to know what it was. How Alec had gotten hurt. He'd seen him again briefly at lunch and the swelling of his eye had only gotten worse, the bruise on his eye had darkened to an angry purple.

"Magnus, do you want to hang out after school? It's been so long since we have," Camille said causing him to break his eye contact with the clock. He turned to her and she was laid half across the table, looking as bored as ever.

"I can't, I've got to much work to do. I did say that earlier," he commented trying to keep his words from tripping over one another. There was no way, not today.

"Aw, come on Mags, our friendship hasn't been the same since we fell out. What's going on?" Camille asked placing a hand on his forearm and tilting her head to the side like a confused dog.

"Nothing, I'm just stressed… about work," he replied and moved his arm away causing her hand to fall onto the table.

"Well… then have one day off so we can hang out," Camille continued and he gritted his teeth together. "Mag-".

"I said no Camille!" He said his anger getting the best of him. He felt bad considering his anger wasn't even aimed at her, not really. But he had too much on his mind and got to his feet. The whole class was staring at him because of the outburst and the crowd of eyes followed him as he moved out from behind his table and stormed out of the classroom.

As soon as he was out of the classroom door he was running, so glad to be free from the classroom and all of the people inside it. He shoulder barged the exit doors to the school and jumped down the steps three at a time, almost tripping when he got to the bottom. Though he didn't stop, continuing his run through the car park and out of the front gate. His chest was already starting to burn, but he forced himself to keep running and not stop until he was at the entrance to the alleyway.

Once he had made it through, it felt almost alien for Alec not to already be there. He had somewhat hope that he would be. He wandered over to a bench and fell onto it. His breathing was heavy and he sucked in breath in big puffs, aware of his chest wildly rising and falling.

As he leaned back into the bench and look up into the sky he cringed at the thought of how he'd dealt with Camille. It was going to take a lot of explaining to get forgiveness from her now, especially considering he was practically on friendship probation already. But as the sound of shuffling leaves filled his ears the thought of Camille disappeared immediately. His head shot back down and his eyes went straight back to the gap in the hedge where the start to the alleyway began.

He saw Alec's Black t-shirt poke through the end of the alley before the rest of him. He rose to his feet and headed towards the boy before he had even fully gotten through and onto the grassy area just past the entrance to the alley. Grabbing him by the waist he pulled him into a tight hug, taking in his scent and was glad when Alec arms wrapped tightly around his back in return. "Alec…," he said resting his face into the crook of Alec's neck.

"Magnus, I know what you're thinking, bu-,"

He didn't even let Alec finish. "Who was it? Who did it Alec?" He asked the question he'd been so desperate to ask. He backed out of Alec's arms even though Alec tried to hold on briefly. Maybe it was because he didn't want him to get a good look at his face. He couldn't help but gasp, it looked even worse up close and he lifted his hand up to Alec's face to brush his thumb just under the bruise not wanting to hurt him.

"Just some jerk, Magnus. It's not a big deal," Alec said trying to move around him but he took hold of his arms lightly to stop him from moving.

"Not a big deal? Alec, have you seen your face? Please just tell me who did this," he said but Alec wouldn't look him in the eyes, his head facing down as his jet black hair covered his face.

"What does it matter now? If you do anything it'll either make it worse or get them started on you, or both," Alec mumbled yanking his arms out of his grip and moved around him towards a bench.

"Was it that jock? The one I caught trying to beat the shit out of you that time?" He said turning just as Alec sat down on the bench and let his head fall into his hands.

"Just don't Magnus," Alec replied not looking up. Alec sounded tired like each word which came out of his mouth weighed a thousand tonnes.

"So it was him? Please Alec, I know that there's nothing I can do but I need to know, for my peace of mind, please," he said moving slowly towards Alec like a magnet.

Alec finally lifted his head and looked into his eyes. For a moment they just stared at one another and then Alec nodded. "It was him, the jock. He caught me off guard, normally I can take care of myself, but I got distracted," Alec looked to the ground again momentarily before raising his head, looking straight at him. "He grabbed me from behind and managed to plant a really good hit to my left eye. I think I must have lost consciousness for a minute or two because the next thing I knew, I was waking up on the grass alone," Alec finished and he walked closer and took a seat beside him. Wrapping his arms around Alec, he pulled him into a awkward side hug. Though he didn't seem to mind.

"Did he only hit you once?" He asked and Alec nodded his head slightly causing some of Alec's hair to brush lightly against his chin.

"Yeah I think so. I just assumed that he didn't mean to hit me that hard, panicked and ran for it," Alec replied pulling back slightly to look back into his eyes. "Don't you want to know what I got distracted by?" Alec sniffed moving his head back so that it laid on his chest.

"What distracted you?" He asked noticing that detail had just gone straight over his head.

"You did, Magnus," Alec said sitting up straight, moving away before letting his head fall into his hands like he had before. "You were late for school, I saw you run into the building just before the bell rang. I wanted to run after you, but I didn't, because I know you don't want to talk to me in school. But I wanted to tell you so badly that I had made up my mind that I wanted to be your boyfriend. But he caught me watching and grabbed me from behind. He called me a faggot and that I should be taught a lesson... And that's when he hit me," Alec finished and he bit his bottom lip as he fought back his tears and anger.

"I'm sorry Alec, I really am," was all he could say and he moved closer to Alec and took hold of the boys shoulders. Slowly he lifted Alec's head and moved it out of his hands. Alec then automatically turned into him, wrapping his long slender arms around his waist.

"Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault, and I meant it Magnus. I-I want to be your boyfriend if you still want me to be," Alec stated and his stomach felt as though it had done a front flip.

"R-really? Of course I still want you, Alec," he said as Alec leaned up and placed a soft kiss to his lips.

"I'm really glad that I decided to trust you," Alec whispered slowly lowering his head until it lay in his lap, Alec staring up at him. A pang of guilt ran through his stomach at the thought of what he had been doing to Alec. Something he'd never do again.

"I glad you did too," he replied starting to run his hands through Alec's black mess he called hair. He liked it though, it was cute in a way that almost made it look fashionable. "I'm not going to school tomorrow, do you want do something? It's ok if you don't want to skip, I-I just can't face Camille after I blew up at her and ran out," he sighed and Alec reached for the hand which wasn't interlaced with his hair. He held onto it tight.

"You blew up and ran out? Is that why you were here before me?" Alec asked turning slightly, he assumed so he could look more serious.

"Yeah, I was going to leave early that morning and find you. I couldn't stop thinking about what might have happened to you but she insisted I stay, which I did. And then at the end of the day she asked if I wanted to hang out. If it had been any other day Alec, it would have been fine but I couldn't not see you. I couldn't... And then when I said no she tried to make me feel guilty and I couldn't take it anymore. I yelled at her in front the class and stormed out, so no doubt she hates me now. Damn it, I was so worried about you Alec," he said and he could see that Alec as holding back tears. He could tell that Alec was someone who rarely cried and had trouble with expressing his emotions.

"She'll forgive you, she forgave you for whatever you did before, and she'll forgive you again," Alec said and he just nodded slightly.

"Probably," he replied holding onto Alec tight, not wanting to ever let go.

'Until she finds out what I've been doing with you,' he added to himself.


	12. Chapter 12

Hi guys! Sorry it's been so long! Here's another chapter for you :) Also, follow me on Twitter -TheMortalMalecFan ( TheMalecMortal) 

....................

He could feel a buzzing against his leg and he let out a tired groan, for a moment he lay in silence hoping that it would stop. Though as the buzzing continued he got the feeling that the person on the other end wasn't going to stop, so he went to move his arm to retrieve his phone from his right trouser pocket.

He tried once and then a second time before he noticed that his arm wasn't moving, stuck under something heavy. Opening one eye he peaked at his surroundings, an overwhelming feeling of confusing washing over him when he noticed that he wasn't at home like he thought he'd been.

The bright blue morning sky was spread out above him causing him to squint as his eyes slowly opened. Looking to his side he saw Alec wrapped up in his arms, both of them laying on one of the benches. He couldn't remember falling asleep, nor it even getting dark. Alec's head was resting into his shoulder and the hand that he could only just see on the other side of Alec's waist was throbbing with protest with the lack of blood getting to his fingers.

Alec stirred slightly and nuzzled his head further into his shoulder. "Shut that thing up, its driving me crazy," Alec groaned softly his voice deep from sleep. He smiled before turning his attention back to his pocket which still held his vibrating phone. With his free hand he dug into it and pulled it out. He didn't bother looking at the caller I.D, he knew who it was going to be. Pressing the answer button with his thumb he lifted it to his ear.

"Cami-,"

"Magnus, where are you? After your outburst yesterday the most you could do today was show up!" Camille yelled cutting him off straight away. He could hear the anger in her voice, hearing her teeth grind together as the words came out between her pursed lips. He could see it now.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, but I'm not coming in today. I've been throwing up all night and my stomach feels as though its being torn from the inside out," he explained fully knowing that Camille hated sick, she couldn't go near the stuff, which means that there's no way that she'd come check up on him.

"Ew Magnus, too much information, but I just wish that you'd just tell me what's going on with you. You've been acting weird with me ever since that stupid prank and I want things to be like they were. It's not like you to let a freak like Alec get between us, is he hassling you? I can get him to stop, I know peop-,"

"Gosh Camille! No he isn't and I know what you mean. I feel different now and I'm trying to figure it out I am, but I need time and I'm so sorry I took that out on you," he said taking his turn to interrupt, his words coming out so fast that he had to take a gulp of air once he was finished.

"I know you Magnus, you're not this soppy. Somethings going on and if you're not telling me about it, it means that I'm not going to like it," Camille said and his heart dropped. He just have made some kind of rash movement because Alec's eyes opened and the other boy lifted his head and looked at him with concern. "You think I'm stupid? We don't talk or see each other outside school anymore and we don't phone or text, who are you seeing?"

"Camille you've got it all wrong!" He said though he wasn't quite sure what he was going to say after, though luckily Camille didn't let him get that far.

"Is it Darren?" She asked and he felt all of the air leave his body. He wasn't sure if it was relief or not, he'd really believed that she was going to call him and Alec out, she really does trust him. But this was the perfect excuse for everything that had been going on and he was going to take it.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I know you don't like the guy," he said his word coming out as his lungs began to refill. Alec had already decided to sit up and was now climbing off the bench, stretching his body by raising his arms towards the sky and arching his back like a cat.

He wiggled his own hand as the blood rushed back into the tips of them. "I don't, but then again I knew you had bad taste," Camille said a small laugh following her words.

"Shut up," he replied with his own smile. "I've got to go, my stomach is starting to churn again," he said before they said their short goodbyes, Camille's mostly consisting of the word 'ew' and then he finally hung up the phone.

For a moment there was silence and he just stared at the blue sky. Only he could get himself into such a mess, he was a fly tangled up in a web of lies and all he can do is wiggle and end up getting more stuck and more closer to death as the spider closed in on him.

"Did you tell her about us?" Alec asked and he turned his head to see Alec standing right by his side. Alec arms were down straight by his sides and he reached out and took Alec's right hand.

"No…," he replied as Alec's fingers tightened around his hand. "Alec I can't," he continued and Alec nodded laying his other hand on top of their interlaced ones.

"I understand," Alec said softly putting the subject to rest by leaning down and touching their lips together softly. They were warm and welcoming, everything that he'd always dreamed of. He couldn't even compare them to his hook ups with Darren.

"So what do you want to do?" He asked pulling himself into the sitting position and pulling Alec down so that he was sitting next to him. Alec gave him a small smile.

"I need to go home for a bit," Alec explained, leaning back so that his back was against the bench.

"Will your parents be worried that you were out all night?" He asked turning so that he could look into Alec's eyes. The bruise on his eye was still ripe and still send a stab to his heart every time he paid too much attention to it.

"No," Alec replied avoiding his eye contact. It looked as though he wasn't looking at anything in particular, like his eyes had clouded over with thought. "My brother, Jace. He'll be climbing the walls. I haven't not come home in a while," Alec continued, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He must love his brother very much. A stir of slight jealousy rose in his gut.

"Did you used to not come home a lot?" He asked rubbing his thumb against the back of Alec's hand.

"I guess. I hated being at home. I still do sometimes," Alec said finally looking him in the eye, a small sad smile tugging at the edges of his beautiful lips.

"Well, you can always come to mine now. I don't care if we're having a fight or anything, you come to me, ok?" He said his tone serious getting his point across. Alec nodded and took hold of his forearm pulling him closer into his side.

"Thank you," Alec whispered. "You can come with me to mine if you want. It might not be a vibrant experience but you'll get to see where I live and maybe meet my brother," Alec continued.

He took a second to think before nodding. "Sure, does he know anything about me? Does he even know that you're, you know…," He said letting his words run off slightly embarrassed and Alec gave a half-hearted laugh.

"Does he know I'm gay? Yes he does, he's cool with it for the most part. Though, my parents don't know and I don't plan on telling them… ever," he said the last words filled with venom. Alec's eyes found him again and Alec pursed his lips. "It's a long story, which I'm not willing to tell right now," Alec continued lacing his fingers tighter into his hand. "But Jace doesn't know anything about you, not yet".

"And he'll be ok with me just showing up at the house?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"He'll have to be. I'm more worried about my parents being there, which is one in a million by the way," Alec stated and pushed him aside slightly as Alec shuffled forward and got off of the bench. "Damn I ache," Alec complained starting to twist his body this way and that way like he was doing some kind of weird yoga.

"Me too, how did we even fall asleep? I can't remember," he said standing and rubbing his shoulder which had been under Alec's head all night. Not that he was complaining.

"You fell asleep first, one minute we were lying and talking and the next you were snoring away," Alec said with a smug smile and he frowned.

"I do not snore," he stated folding his arms over his chest in protest.

"You do actually, very loudly," Alec said and he pouted. Alec laughed and came over, wrapping one arm around his waist. He kept his arms firmly crossed over his chest, trying not to show the smirk which he was desperately holding back.

For a moment there was silence, before the biggest snore noise came out of Alec's mouth. He couldn't hold back his smile any longer and he fell into a fit of laughter. His stomach hurt by the time they were finished, his hands had wrapped around Alec's waist and he held the boy close. Their smiles were wide and he couldn't remember his cheeks hurting like this before.

Slowly he released Alec and Alec took his arm, pulling him towards the hole in the hedge where the alleyway began.


	13. Chapter 13

Alec's house was huge and he couldn't stop his mouth from falling open when he saw it. There was even one of those fancy gates blocking the entrance which they had to wait at until they were buzzed in. "Wow," he said as they gates slowly opened and they made their way up the stone drive way.

"Yeah, it's not that great," Alec said the tone in his voice almost suggested that he was ashamed about how big his house was. His own house as a child had been quite big, his parents were well off but he'd never even stepped into a house like this before. It was almost mansion like.

Camille's house was also huge but her family tended to have multiple houses in many locations rather than one or two big houses.

Alec led the way to the front door of the house, him following slightly behind feeling way out of place. Alec knocked on the door with a closed fist causing an echo which he could here even when he was on the outside of the building. For a moment no one came to the door and Alec even raised his hand to knock again when the door flew open.

"Alec where the hell have you been! You promised me you'd stop doing this!" The boy said his voice low and angry. The boy was quiet handsome, with bright blond hair and gold eyes which were quite striking.

"Calm down Jace, it's not that big of a deal!" Alec said trying to walk past Jace and into the house but Jace's arm flew out, stopping him from entering.

"Not a big deal?! Look at your face, what the hell happened to you?" Jace said removing his arm out of the way of the door to lightly caress the dark bruise on Alec's face. And that's when Jace's eyes finally caught him, like he was realising he was there for the first time. "Was it you?!" Jace asked and suddenly the golden boy was in his face, pushing him backwards slightly.

"Jace!" Alec yelled trying to get between the both of them.

"I'm sorry Jace, is it? But why would I accompany Alec home if I were the one that decided to punch him in the face?" He said more sarcasm in his voice than he would have liked but he decided to go with it.

"Who are you?" Jace asked backing away and turning back to Alec who was stood just to the left of them. "Who is he?"

"Just a friend. I stayed at his last night," Alec explained and Jace's face brightened up and he turned back to him and for the first time didn't look like he was about to murder him.

"Really? Annnndddd?" Jace said a smirk rising on his face. Jace was staring back at Alec intently and laughed when Alec looked to the ground and his cheeks went bright red. "You guys did it?!" He said his voice low but excited.

"No!" Both he and Alec yelled at the same time.

"But you're seeing each other?" Jace asked and Alec huffed and walked into his house without answering the question. Jace turned to him and suddenly turned serious again. "Don't hurt him, he's been through enough," Jace said before turning and following Alec into the house leaving the door wide open for him to follow suit.

He paused for a second before walking into the house and closing the door behind him. He could hear Alec and Jace arguing in the next room about Alec's safety, so he took a moment to be in awe of the inside of the house.

The doorway lead into a room containing a huge stairwell which he assumed led to bedrooms, bathrooms and spear rooms. The ceiling was so high that it almost disappeared into darkness. "Magnus?" Alec called and he reappeared, coming from the room which he had heard him and his brother arguing.

"Sorry I was just admiring," he said and Alec bit his lip before turning and walking back into the same room he'd walked out of, though this time he followed. The room was a library, the walls were all bookcases filled with different coloured books. In the middle as a desk and two red sofas which still had a couple books scattered over them from when someone had last used it. Jace was sat on the safe further away from him with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"I'm going out," Alec told Jace who rolled his eyes and looked to the ceiling.

"And when will you be back?" Jace asked and Alec shrugged.

"I only came back to let you know that I was ok, but I should be back by tonight," Alec said looking defeated. "Are Robert and Maryse coming back soon?" Alec continued and Jace looked over at Alec with tired eyes.

"I don't know. I haven't heard from them in a couple days, but I assume they'll be home soon. It's been over a month since they left," Jace said avoiding looking at him and keeping his eyes on Alec who was picking up some of the books which had been left lying around and placing them back onto the book shelves.

"Great," Alec said sarcasm strong in his tone.

"Alec, you don't need them," Jace said and Alec nodded just as the sound of a car door sounded outside the front. Both Alec's and Jace's head shot towards the window their mouths falling open.

"No, it can't be," Alec said walking towards the window and peering out through the glass. His shoulder shrunk considerably. "Or it could be," Alec said turning to Jace biting his lips.

"Really?" Jace said getting to his feet and walking past him and out of the room. He heard the front door open and voices, Jace's and another male and a female.

"Your parents?" He asked Alec and Alec only nodded not bothering to reply verbally. A few minutes later a woman walked into the library. She walked with purpose, as if she owned the world and nothing could ever get in her way.

"Alec darling you're home," she said walking up to Alec and giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "And who's this?" She asked sending a look- which he could only relate with disgust- towards him. The way she regarded anything was quite cold and unwelcoming, he also hadn't recognised any sign of her giving affection towards her son either.

"This is Magnus, my friend," Alec replied moving to stand next to him. He was kind of glad that he did, he didn't know if he could handle another stare on his own. This woman was quite frightening.

"Friend? I was beginning to think that you weren't capable of making friends, and I've almost given up the thought of getting grandchildren," the woman said her words causing him to send a frown in the woman's direction. Did this woman have nothing nice to say to her son after being away for a month?

"Thanks mother, I'm going out. I don't know when I'll be back, say hi to father for me," Alec said before turning and headed back towards the front door. He followed after him, walking through the front door which Alec had already opened and was storming across the front lawn and towards the gate. He picked his walk up to a slow jog in order to catch up.

"Alec wait!" He called and Alec paused waiting for him, though he didn't turn to look at him. Even from the back he could tell that his mothers words had gotten to him. "Don't listen to her," he said laying a hand on his boyfriends shoulder. "My parents used to say that kind of stuff to me too, it's not true," he continued but Alec shook his head his eye planted to the ground like the dirt was the most interesting thing in the world.

"No it is, my parents don't try to make stuff up to make me feel bad. They use factual information to belittle me and tear me apart," Alec said through clenched teeth began to walk towards the front gate again.

"Alec… you're a beautiful person, you don't need to hear that stuff," he said trying to link his hand into Alec's but he whipped his hand away.

"No they might see, they'll never want to see me again if they found out," Alec said and he could tell that he was getting overwhelmed with the situation. He nodded and held his hands up to let him know that he wouldn't try again.

"Let's go get something to eat ok?" He suggested and Alec nodded.

"Ok," Alec replied as they both made their way out of the gate and onto the street.


	14. Chapter 14

As they both slid into the booth he turned Alec, neither of them had talked on the way to Taki's the small restaurant which they had gone to on their first date. He didn't think this was a date, but he didn't really know where else they could have gone to get food where others wouldn't go.

"Are you ok?" He asked taking one of Alec's hand which had been left on the table. Alec nodded, not looking him in the eyes as he slumped backwards against the back of the booth. "If you want to talk about it you can, I understand. My parents suck to," he said and Alec glance up, the look of guilt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Alec sighed covering his face with his free hand. "They're just never going to accept who I am. If they find out, they'll never want to see me again. If doesn't feel like they want me to be there now," Alec said removing the hand from his face and letting it drop down next to him.

"Can I give you some advice? You might not want to hear it but it might help," he said turning his body toward his boyfriend and giving Alec's hand a squeeze.

"Yes," Alec said lifting his head slightly, though their eyes still didn't meet.

"If you're sure that they are never going to accept you, stop expecting them to. If you dwell on it for the rest of your life, it won't make a difference. Be who you are; you don't need them to do that. No matter what people say, you can chose your friends and family," he finished and waited. For a moment Alec was still and then he finally looked up, his eyes connecting with his.

A sigh fell from Alec's lips as he shuffled towards him and leaned against his shoulder. "Thank you," was all Alec said before they both fell silent again. Though, this time the silence wasn't filled with heavy emotion, only a sense of belonging.

….

Alec had gone home after they'd eaten. He'd offered for him to crash at his place but Alec had graciously denied. Though, that turned into a valiant decision when he returned home and Camille was at his door.

"I thought you were ill?" She asked hands on her hips and he eyes stabbing into him accusingly. She leaned with her back against the door, facing him head on.

"I am, I just went for a walk. It's too stuffy in my apartment," he said and Camille seemed to relax, her arms falling to her sides.

"Are you feeling any better?" She asked moving out the way of the door. He moved swiftly towards it and unlocked the entrance so that he and Camille could go inside.

"Um yes, I do feel better," he replied, moving into the living room to take a seat on the sofa. Camille fell down next to him and he felt a moment of nostalgia, of how strong their friendship had been before Alec. A pit in his stomach made him realise that he wouldn't change a thing, and for that he felt guilty.

"Good," Camille said before the room fell into an awkward silence. His eyes fell to the floor before flicking back up and seeking out Camille's, though hers avoided his like the plague.

"You didn't come here just to see how I was feeling Camille," he said and Camille turned to him, her eyes looking into his eyes quickly before falling back into her lap.

"What am I supposed to do? My best friend is hiding things from me and I never see you anymore so there was no other way to confront you about it," Camille said her tone angry and he fists clenched. She stood up from the couch and folded her arms across her chest, staring down at him like she was his parent telling him off.

"Hiding things? I don't know what you're talking about?" He replied trying to get up from the couch, only to have a hand on his chest pushing him back down.

"Darren was here before I got here. And he happened to tell me that you guys were never dating, he left pretty quickly after telling me that too," she said and he sunk back into the couch, his heart sinking with it.

"I-I'm sorry Camil-,"

"You dating him aren't you, after EVERYTHING!" She said her tone filled with anger and disgust, turning and grabbing his lamp from the small table next to the couch and throwing it across the room. It smashed sending shards of china in several different directions, some hitting him in the back of the head but he hardly noticed.

"Camille, what the hell are you doing? Why would you even say that?" He asked with some anger of his own. That was an expensive lamp.

"It's not too hard to put the pieces together Magnus, he's never at school when you're not, and when you both are you're always looking for that freak," she said and he shook his head, biting his lip to stop himself from defending Alec. "And you always look like you want to rip my head off when I even say one bad thing about him. You so obvious Magnus," she said leaning down, getting right into his face. "It's disgusting".

"You can't tell me who I can and cannot date Camille, you have got to stop being so petty and realise that I really like Alec. You need to put what happened with yours and Alec's father aside, they don't even get along," he said as Camille backed off, though still stood over him, a scowl implanted in her cheeks.

"I would have never chosen a lover over you, never," Camille said her eyes glowing with anger. He was surprised that smoke was piling from her ears.

"No Camille, the difference is, I would have never asked you to choose," he said and Camille's mouth fell shut, he could see the glistening of tears in her eyes and he had to look away before he continued. "I think you should leave".

Camille huffed and took a step backwards, shaking her head. "This friendship is done Magnus, you'll regret this," Camille said before storming out of the living room. He waited a second for the door to slam closed, before he grabbed the nearest pillow, clenching it with closed fists he brought it to his face and screamed.

"BITCH!"


	15. Chapter 15

He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, not knowing where he was going to claw the energy to get through the day. But he knew that he would see Alec, his raven hair, and soft skin. Blowing out a sigh he pushed himself into sitting position and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He was already going to be late but no way was he going to leave the house with this bed hair, he thought staring at the mirror across from his place on the front of his closet. His golden skin looked a shade paler than usual and his hair drooped over his forehead, while the back stuck out in every direction as if he had been electrocuted. Maybe he had been? 

Ughh. “Let’s get today over with,” he whispered to himself and pushed himself up from the bed. 

……..

He hadn’t heard from Magnus this morning. He checked his phone over and over only to be disappointed with a blank screen. He wasn’t sure if he should be worried. It was possible that his parents had scared him away, he wouldn’t be surprised. 

Leaving his house, he pondered at the silence. It was a big house but it felt so empty. His mother hadn’t talked to him since yesterday but he didn’t let it get him down too much. He was used to the bitter disappointment she had for him. He didn’t expect her to acknowledge him if she didn’t have too. 

Walking down the driveway he paused. A voice calling him caused him to look over his shoulder. Jace jogged up to him, his golden curls bouncing on his head slightly. “Hey, let me walk you,” Jace said as he caught up.

“Jace, you don’t have to do this,” he replied. 

But Jace shook his head. “Don’t have to do what? I’m just walking my brother to school. Checking in…,” Jace said as they turned and started down the road towards the school. “…so, what’s going on with you and this guy,” Jace asked. 

“Magnus? I… uhhh…,” he had talked to Jace about being gay before. But he never thought he would be discussing a boy with him… a living, breathing, beautiful boy. He paused and took a breath. “I like him… a lot.” 

He turned his head, taking a glance at Jace and saw he was holding a sweet smile.  
“So how did you guys find each other?” Jace asked and he chuckled. 

“You’ve already gone psycho on him. I feel like you’re about to go psycho on me too,” he said and Jace raised an eyebrow. 

“I’m just looking out for you, I don’t trust people. Especially with you brother,” Jace replied and he paused just as they reached the school gates. He laid a hand on Jace’s shoulder, his thumb brushing lightly against his neck and his heart skipped a beat. Letting his hand fall from his shoulder he pushed back the feeling in his stomach. The feelings he’d had for his stepbrother for as long as he could remember. It was wrong, he knew. But Jace had been his first crush, and the first he’d had to get over. Though every now and then he felt sparks in his stomach like past feelings coming to the surface, before they shrank back into their dark hole in the pit in his stomach. 

“Thank you for looking out for me,” he said to Jace, pulling the golden boy into a quick hug before they turned and went their separate ways. He wanted to pause and look back, but he didn’t. He knew that Jace would already be gone anyway. Focus Alec. School. He sighed looking up at the same old entrance as he advanced. He took the stairs two at a time and moved fluidly through the doors. 

He headed straight for his locker, swerving in and out of the people crowing the hallway. Classes would be starting soon and he had checked his phone multiple time to see if he’d gotten a reply from Magnus… but to no avail. 

When he got to his locker he noticed a piece of paper sticking half way out the door. Raising an eyebrow, he plucked it from the door and pulled the edges open to reveal a note. 

‘Meet me at our secret place – MB x’ 

He read it three times over, so many questions running through his mind. Why didn’t he text him? Why a note? He knew that he couldn’t keep skipping classes but he needed to know what was up with Magnus. Shoving the note deep into his pocket he turned around and headed back towards the entrance to the school. 

As he reached the gates of the school again he heard the bell ring but ignored it, turning and heading towards the direction of the alleyway which leads to their secret place. At one point he found himself running, he couldn’t remember when he’d started but he knew he couldn’t stop. Not until he could look into those beautiful eyes. 

When he finally reached the alleyway he noticed how much of the plants had been pushed down. Most of it had been pushed to the side. Did Magnus do this? He walked down the alley not having to move anything out of his way for the first time. Something felt wrong. Badly wrong. 

When he reached the end he looked around. Nothing. No one was there. 

“Magnus?” He called looking around. There weren’t many places he could be hiding in this small area. 

“Hello, Alec.” A voice. A woman's voice… He turned around quickly and stared as Camille stood in the alleyway. Her eyes were deadly. 

“Camille? You wrote the note…? Bu- “.

“But it looked like Magnus’ writing? Oh, Alec, we’ve been friends for years… you don’t think we haven’t replicated each other’s writing. For notes of absence, for example,” her voice was poison. “You took him from me. He loved me. You were just a joke, a prank gone wrong”. 

The words hurt and he took a step back. He hadn’t noticed until now that there was more than just Camille… there were other people too. A couple jocks standing behind her like bodyguards. Though I’m not sure she’s the one that needed protection right now. 

“W-what do you mean?” He said his heart beating fast. He felt like crying, the tears welling up in his eyes but he wouldn’t let them fall. There was no way he’d give her the satisfaction of it. He finally felt his phone buzz in his pocket. But he left it, staring up at the girl with the evil smirk carved into her face. 

“A joke? You see I heard the rumours that you were gay and I wanted to see if they were true. So, I dared Magnus to ask you out and date you for a week. And he did. Only it went on longer than planned. He’s been lying to you. You really think you’re good enough for him?” She asked the smile increasing, she knew it was getting to him. The words taking him apart one by one. 

“He wouldn’t do that to me, stop lying,” he said the tears threatening to fall. “You’re that much of a bitch that you want to ruin this for him?” He shouted his stern tone surprising even himself. 

“Oh wow, look who finally grew some balls. Boys,” she said looking over her shoulder and clicking her fingers. The two jocks came forward. One was bigger than the other, one supporting big arms and head, while the other was thinner but towered over him like a giant. 

He took multiple steps backward and turned to try and run through the hedges but as he turned one of the jocks caught his arms from behind and pulled them tightly behind his back until he felt his shoulders ached. 

“Get off me!” He yelled trying to pull out of the lanky boy’s arms. He knew it was him as the other boy was standing right in front of him, fists clenched. 

Camille moved forward the smile still there. “You’ve been caught in a joke, Alec. You are a joke. Have fun boys,” she spat before taking a few steps back.

The next thing he saw was a fist coming at his face.


End file.
